‘The First Omen’ Review: A Prequel that Fails to Measure Up

Making a prequel is hard, but some films beg for an explanation. It seems surprising that after nearly 50 years, no director has taken a shot at producing a prequel to Richard Donner and David Seltzer’s 1976 horror “The Omen,” a film that imagines a world in which the antichrist is reborn as a five-year-old boy under the care of an American diplomat and his wife. Almost more compelling than the film’s horror elements is the terrible secret of the Antichrist’s creation. Arkasha Stevenson’s directorial debut film finally untangles the mystery behind the Antichrist’s birth. “The First Omen” follows young American novitiate, Margaret (Nell Tiger Free), as she waits to take the veil in a Roman orphanage and discovers what secrets might lie within the halls of the convent.

The film opens on the muffled conversation of two priests in a confessional, an exchange that comes to a sudden end when the eldest of the two fathers (Charles Dance) flees in shame. The seasoned actors play their parts with expertise: Father Brennan (Ralph Ineson) is eccentric enough to be frightening, but not too manic as to be untrustworthy; Free, though less accomplished, is a delight throughout. It is credit to Free’s playful portrayal of Margaret that the film manages to remain compelling throughout its two hour run time.

Likewise, intriguing composition drives the first half of “The First Omen.” Busy shots rife with movement and color capture Margaret’s initial awe upon arriving in the riot-ridden streets of Rome. As the film dips into its scarier moments, visuals become less complex, letting horror emerge from the simple shapes of the nuns’ sable tunics and veils. The camera lingers on these silhouettes for longer than expected — tension builds, only released in rare jumpscares as Margaret’s mind grapples with determining whether what she sees is real or not.

Low lighting enhances the dubiety of images within the film. The moon is the sole light source for many scenes, casting eerie shadows and suggesting that perhaps the riots that rage in Rome outside the walls of the orphanage are safer than the darkness within. The cool light of the moon is filtered out as the film closes, replaced with the dim light bulbs of the inner convent. In the switch, “The First Omen” loses its nuance as the substitution makes the film predictable — lights flicker, candles die. Some commentary, however, is maintained as votives burn above Margaret’s head bowed in prayer and below her folded knees. These symbols take the form of jaws devouring the young novitiate as the evil within the convent consumes her life.

Though this visual effect is achieved mechanically, much of the others throughout the film are the result of CGI. “The First Omen” delves deep into body horror, showcasing many aberrations of the female form. Towards the film’s end, Stevenson begins to rely too heavily on fetid stomachs and naked forms to achieve horror. While Free plays terror well, the movie drags without the innovative practical techniques that characterized its first half.

Scenes cut back and forth quickly as Margaret’s life unravels and deaths pile up — poor pacing defeats the weight of anyone’s demise. The editing becomes more frantic to convey Margaret’s mental state, but the effect results in confusion. Plot holes abound, the dialogue becomes sloppy, and big reveals seem too obvious to hold any shock value: Perhaps most disappointing of all is the film’s conclusion.

As a prequel, “The First Omen” is constrained in how it might have ended. The Antichrist must be adopted by the diplomat and his family, and therefore he must be born, but these guidelines should not preclude the film from allowing its characters some form of closure. The conclusion feels half-hearted and disappointingly predictable. The film may answer the questions of its progenitor, but in the process it raises many of its own.